Weekly Music Sales Report: 18 December 2013

Any week with nine releases selling more than 10,000 copies would be a good one. But given that this same week last year saw fourteen releases with sales of 10,000+, 2013 continues to disappoint.

Year-to-date sales in Canada are at -6% for the year with CD sales down by 15%. Digital albums are higher by 10% while digital tracks are struggling with just a 3% increase.

Beyonce’s self-titled surprised debuted at #1 with 35,000 copies, 100% of which were digital. It’s followed by Christmas Gift to You from Johnny Reid (18,000). Then it’s Michael Buble’s Christmas at #6. It’s sold more than 700,000 copies over the years.

As for the top digital track, it’s still “Timber” from Pitbull with 26,000 downloads.

On the US side of things, there are three new entries in the Top 10, including a big #1 debut for Beyonce with sales of 617,000. That’s nice, but year-to-date sales are down 8% with CD sales down 15%. Digital albums are up just 1% from 2012 with digital track sales down 5% year-over-year.

Looking beyond Beyonce, we have Garth Brooks’ Blame It All on My Roots (#2, 172,000), R. Kelly’s Black Panties (#4, 133,000) and Childish Gambino with Because the Internet (#7, 96,000).

As for the biggest digital single, it’s “Say Something” from A Great Big World with 233,000 downloads. The most streamed song in America is still that bloody “Wrecking Ball” with 6,857,479 listens.

All figures courtesy Nielsen Soundscan.

Share this:

About the Author

Alan Cross is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker.
In his 30+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.